Dynamic Discs has been in the business of disc golf for eight years now and running events for almost as long. As a company, we host over 30+ PDGA events a year and sponsor hundreds of other events. Our two RV’s travel the country and we see and experience more disc golfers in a year than anyone else in the world. Our number one goal at every event is for the player to have the best experience possible. We feel like with what resources, funding, and time that we have available, we do a great job at providing a very high level of service.

We have experimented with several different models for our tournaments but as a whole, they are all run almost identical. Amateur players almost always receive a $15 merchandise voucher as their player pack so that they can pick out whatever they want. The recreational division was converted to trophy only for the 2012 season and remains that way for 2013. These recreational players usually pay around $35 and receive a players package worth well over that and often compete for additional prizes. The size of our recreational division did decline in size, but our intermediate field increased in size. I can promise you that we did not discourage the true recreational player from coming out to our events! We do believe that we improved the recreational player tournament experience and hopefully help make sure that these players come back to play more tournaments.

Jennifer mentioned that our tournaments are having a difficult time with filling up now due to this decision. Some of our Texas events were a few players short of filling last year but I disagree 100% with this statement or assumption. The decision to make recreational trophy only was because we had players bagging in intermediate only to win nearly the same amount in prizes as someone in the intermediate division would win due to the field sizes of around 50-60 players with nearly half of these who should have been playing intermediate. We felt the true meaning of a recreational player was to enjoy your experience and compete against players of your skill level instead of intermediate players who were not renewing PDGA memberships so that they could bag and win more prizes.

We believe that the decline in the attendance of the events has been largely due to the number of events doubling in Texas in 2012. This gave players more options and diluted the number of players. For the 2013 season, all four of our Texas PDGA events have either filled in advance or had over 180 players and we are still doing recreational as trophy/player pack only.

Our payouts are some of the best in the business and we have almost zero sponsorship dollars to put towards the events except for the Innova Champion Discs CFR fundraising program and a few minor sponsors here and there. We hosted a very successful Glass Blown Open in 2012 that featured 432 players with a hybrid of trophy only. We handed players a player pack worth approximately $175, sent them off to play three rounds of golf, and then only paid out a small percentage of the field. Most players seemed to appreciate this model. We are doing the same this year and those that place at the top will be rewarded again. This is basically the same model that we put in front of the PDGA board for our 2013 Amateur World Championships bid proposal. The bid was approved and Dynamic Discs and Emporia, Kansas were awarded the Championships with expectations that the amateur tournament model was in need of some adjustments. The PDGA was supportive and encouraging and felt like if this was the year for change, then having Dynamic Discs behind it would hopefully be the best way to bring this to the players.

We can only host a little over 500 players with five courses to use. Steezo mentioned that the Emporia Middle School course should have been looked at and improved on and utilized. This was our full intentions but the PDGA did not feel like the course, even with the proposed improvements, was good enough for a World Championships. The course will still be getting the changes, but at this point it is not scheduled to be used for Worlds.

What should players expect of the 2013 Amateur World Championships? Our goal is always to have players enjoy their experience from the time that they show up until the time that they leave. You will check in at the Granada Theatre which is a block away from the Dynamic Discs shop and pick up your $200+ value players package. From there, you will likely get practiced up on the courses and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the two ball golf facilities that are going to be used for the event. Both courses will allow you to rent a golf cart for your practice rounds so enjoy that experience that few events have the ability to offer. The players party, dinner, FlyMart, poker night, Dynamic Discs shop, clinics, and other activities will keep you busy all week and with everything in Emporia being as little as a ten minute drive, you should never expect travel time to be anything to worry about. At the end of the event, there will be the finals and awards given out to the top finishers. These players will receive a trophy basket, or mini trophy basket, along with additional payout that can be used at the event or at the ease of your computer when back home through our online store that stocks just about everything disc golf.

If you are looking to win or place high in your respective division and make a personal gain by receiving additional payout, you still will! We just don’t see the need to pay out 250 of 500 amateur players. This creates mass chaos in most instances while all 250 players are trying to rush and get their payout and get on the road at the same time. We want to give you the best experience up front and for the entire time that you are in Emporia and think that we can do this without paying out half of the field. With many events doing this across the country, it seems to be the model that will be seen in more and more events. If you can’t find the competitive nature in playing your best, improving your game, and competing against the top amateurs only to be upset to not receive payout for finishing halfway down in your division, then I recommend not coming to the Amateur World Championships and letting someone else fill your spot who will enjoy the tournament and the experience. We don’t feel like there will be any shortage of players wanting to compete and want all 500+ players to come and have the best tournament experience that they will ever have at a disc golf event! We look forward to seeing you in Emporia and promise to put on the best show possible!

He is spot on. Paying 50% of the field in a competitive tournement is ridiculous. I slowly see disc golf moving away from this people pleasing "everyone gets something" mantality and I love it. We pay 30 to 70 bucks to play most events, and usually break even when we pick up a players pack. I don't know why ams are always complaining about pay outs. If i was a TD I would try to allocate the maximum amount of $$ for the Pro Players - that is the whole idea of a tournement - the best players get the best prize. Honestly I think the PDGA has way to many divisions and I'd like to see more cuts in the field on big tournements like this years Memorial and I think some past Vibram Opens if I'm not mistaken.

This sport will eventually blow up....eventually. Once big names jump on board and payouts get serious the sport will transition like all other major sports. There will be Pro tournements and AM tournements. Something like the Fed Ex Cup and Nationwide Tour in ball Golf (sorry if those names have changed, I don't keep up on golf anymore). People are always getting mad at guys like BJohnson who consistenly finish at the top and then get a silly low payout (local tournements). This is an old discussion and I won't get into it, but it relates to that mantality I mentioned above. The bottom line is Brian should be dissappointed in getting $60 bucks when 60 guys show up with $20 bucks and there is a 1200 purse. I know there are some other costs...provided lunches, CTPs, other various wastes of money.

The argument I always get is , "well only 4 pros showed up and 66 ams showed up so why should we give all the money to the pros." That is not an argument and does not at all stand to reason. It really is very simple, it is a competitive tournement, and the best players get the best payout!! I could go on for days about this, but It's been said too many times before.

Back to Jeremy, we have to understand he has a vested interest in Amatuer players, becuase they are the people buying his merch and supporting his business. I think what is happening is Dynamic has established a good brand image in the disc golf market. People know that a Dynamic runned event will be quality and fun. He knows he doesn't have to people please anymore to fill tourneys. Therefore, he can payout a smaller percentage of the field and reduce the hassel of prizing out half the field. And again, for every am who doesn't get a prize is one more potential buyer of his merch. Don't forget that everyone in the tourney has already received a players pack of equal or more value to the tournement cost.

Hopefully we see less of the trickle down effect in the future and a more reasonalbe pay out structure across all events. I SOUND LIKE A REPUBLICAN.

Sorry for throwing BJ under the bus, but he is a good friend of mine and was the best example I could thing of.